Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will finally settle their long-standing rivalry in Cardiff on December 11. The heavyweight duo have been on course for a showdown for a decade without stepping into the ring together.
Venue and Date Confirmed
Earlier this year, both fighters signed a contract which, for Joshua at least, contained a stipulation that the bout would take place in Britain, most likely at Wembley, during November. However, Netflix, who will screen the contest, grew concerned about the prospect of an afternoon start time for American audiences, and advocated for the fight to be relocated across the Atlantic.
Las Vegas and Los Angeles also emerged as potential venues, but Madison Square Garden in New York became the leading contender. Yet Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn remained resolute in their desire to face Fury at Wembley, and presented a series of conditions they insisted must be satisfied before they would consent to staging the fight in America.
UK Staging Secured
Despite negotiations, Joshua and Hearn reinforced their conviction that the bout must be held in the UK, with Cardiff subsequently emerging as a possibility. The contest will take place beneath the Principality Stadium's retractable roof and is anticipated to commence at 1am to ensure the opening bell coincides with evening hours on America's east coast.
Joshua and Fury, who are anticipated to pocket £75million apiece, prepared for their clash with respective wins in July. Fury halted Mariusz Wach in the seventh round of their non-televised bout in Thailand, while Joshua recovered from being floored twice by Kristian Prenga before stopping the Albanian in the second round.
Official Announcement
A formal declaration was anticipated but has been plagued by setbacks. Two months on, Saudi boxing chief Turki Al-Sheikh eventually took to social media to confirm the bout officially. Joshua and Fury will now come face-to-face for the first time at a press conference in London next week.
The contest will settle one of the most fiercely contested debates in British boxing history, albeit five years after Fury and Joshua were at their peak. The duo held all four versions of the heavyweight world championship in 2021 and signed a two-fight agreement, only for the arrangement to fall apart when Fury was mandated to instead face Deontay Wilder for a third time. However, both Britons ultimately surrendered their world titles to Oleksandr Usyk, meaning their encounter will be for national pride rather than championship belts.
